Related Experiment Videos
Arthritis as a manifestation of self-mutilation in childhood
C Goldenstein-Schainberg1, L Y Chu, R M Pereira
1Department of Internal Medicine, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, Brazil.
The Journal of Rheumatology
|January 1, 1992
Abstract:
Traumatic arthritis resulting from self-aggression is rarely encountered in children. Differentiation from child abuse and common causes of childhood arthritis is difficult and rests upon a high level of suspicion. We describe a 10-year-old girl with hand deformities associated with joint pain and swelling managed as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis for 3 years. Reevaluation revealed both physical and radiographic evidence of recurrent trauma. Psychiatric assessment confirmed the diagnosis of autoaggression leading to self-mutilation and psychosocial rehabilitation was essential in successful management.